About Our Organization

Mission StatementBroad Spectrum Veterinary Student Association’s mission is to connect, support and empower community for LGBT+* students and allies across veterinary education.*LGBT + will be used as an inclusive acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer,Questioning, Asexual and others who self-identify on the sexual orientation and/or gender expression continuums.

Vision StatementBroad Spectrum desires greater support and a sense of community for all LGBT+ students and allies throughout veterinary medical education. We actively strive to counter episodes of bigotry and marginalization with positive messages of diversity and inclusion. We have healthy, supportive and encouraging relationships with pre-veterinary, veterinary and graduate students, faculty, staff and administrators. We are known for advocating for the respect and equality of seen and unseen LGBT+ members in the academic veterinary community and beyond. We contribute to the development of safe and welcoming veterinary school environments for pre- and current veterinary students. Broad Spectrum makes veterinary schools more inclusive for all students, especially LGBT+ students. We accomplish this by starting important and courageous conversations about LGBT+ inclusion, in addition to maintaining much needed support for LGBT+ students in veterinary medicine.Our HistoryWe were founded in 2011 at the SAVMA Symposium hosted by UC Davis. The name 'Broad Spectrum' came out of a calculated attempt to be as inclusive as possible to any student who falls anywhere on the spectra of sexuality, sex, or gender. We welcome all students no matter their sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression. And yes, allies, this means we welcome you, too!

Sunday, February 7, 2016

"Hayden Nevill, a
transgender veterinarian in Fairbanks, AK, was one of three clients to
challenge Alaska’s restrictions on correcting the gender on your
driver’s license. In an op-ed published in the Anchorage Daily News
earlier this year, Nevill wrote about how transgender people often have
to struggle or disclose private information just to get driver’s
licenses and other identification documents that match who they are:

'I'm a professional who travels for work. I am a guy. I have a deep
voice and a receding hairline. No one meeting me ever mistakes me for
female. My passport says I'm male. My Alaska driver's license has my
current name and recent photo, but still says 'F'.
'How does this affect me? I carry my passport everywhere, using it for
ID when everyone else uses a driver's license. That works fine when I'm
presenting my ID on a job site, except when I need to drive a company
vehicle or rent a car. Then I'm faced with a confused clerk who may or
may not accept my driver's license as valid. If I have to explain
medical reasons why my documents don't match, at best it's a
conversation that invades my privacy and is uncomfortable for everyone
involved. At worst, it exposes me to possible discrimination or
suffering physical violence.'

"To fix the Alaska DMV’s flawed policy that required those who seek to
change the gender marker on their driver’s license submit proof of a
sex reassignment surgery, ACLU filed a lawsuit, K.L. v. Alaska DMV, on
behalf of a transgender woman, K.L., whose U.S. passport and work
documents all identify her as a female. After initially securing a
change to the gender on her driver’s license, she was told that her new
license would be revoked unless she submitted proof of having surgery.
Later, Nevill and another client served as clients in a separate case
seeking the same result. Following a court ruling in the K.L. case
finding that denying accurate identification documents violated the
privacy rights of transgender Alaskans, the DMV removed the requirement
for surgery or any other specific medical intervention to correct the
gender on a driver’s license as of August 2012."

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Here is a link for your blog. One of the founders of Broad Spectrum, Dr.
William Gilles at the University of Wisconin, has helped create a
clinic for low income and disabled people. He and Dr. Katherine Kreuhl,
started their programs with the 2013 LGVMA Veterinary Student Leadership
Grant. Congratulatons William!